


cherry lips

by keepurselfalive



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Soft Boys, Stranded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 10:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18603079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepurselfalive/pseuds/keepurselfalive
Summary: It’s hot and muggy and their bus just broke down in the middle of nowhere. Their bus driver seemed rather optimistic at first, but when Freddie last went to check on him and the scrubby mechanic their tour manager found somewhere down the street, things didn’t seem that good anymore.





	cherry lips

Freddie thinks he’s going to pass out. Well, not really, but he’s not happy right now, and it’s hot and muggy and their bus just broke down in the middle of nowhere. Their bus driver seemed rather optimistic at first, but when Freddie last went to check on him and the scrubby mechanic their tour manager found somewhere down the street, things didn’t seem that good anymore. 

 

“I think we’ll die here, old and dry and lonely,” he says and sits down in the grass next to Brian. 

 

“I like it here,” Brian answers serenely, leaning back on his elbows, wriggles his toes and grins at Freddie from under his sunglasses. “It’s nice.”

 

Freddie hrms and purses his lips. Across the street an old woman is shaking out her rugs, and from somewhere Freddie can hear the voices of laughing children. Behind them, the creek is murmuring quietly and yeah, if Freddie were into that sort of thing, he’d probably find it nice, too.

 

“It could have been worse,” Brian elaborates. “I’m sure they’ll fix the bus soon.”

 

“Right, and until then I’m melted. You’ll have to scrape me up and put me in a plastic bag.” He wipes his forehead and blows his hair out of his face. “And Roger ran off, too. I think he’s looking to find a nice farmer’s girl to hook up with.” He stops. “Oh god, the heat is making me insane, Brian.” 

 

“Nah,” Brian says and grins. “He went to get groceries with Deaky.” He shifts and suddenly something cold is pressing to Freddie’s arm. Freddie yelps and jerks, and then Brian is holding a can of iced tea against his cheek. 

 

“Hey,” Brian says after Freddie has finished the last drop and crushed the can. “Let’s go explore a little?” 

 

“Uh, no?” Freddie replies and licks his lips.

 

“You’ll get cooler if you move. Air moving around you and stuff,” Brian says and tilts his head. He does the puppy eyes nearly as well as Roger. 

 

“Darling, that’s a lie.” Freddie sighs and already knows that he’s going to give in. 

 

Brian reaches over and touches his shoulder softly. “I gave you iced tea. You owe me.” He smiles sweetly and yeah, Freddie is definitely going to give in. Maybe exploring town isn’t that bad of an idea. Maybe the moving air thing is true; Brian seems very nature adept. He nods slowly, and Brian pulls him to his feet, their fingers entwined, until Freddie pulls back a bit self-conscious. 

 

They wander down the street, shoulders bumping, and Freddie still feels hot and uncomfortable, but for some reason also better. Brian seems happy looking at the old houses and vintage shops, taking pictures now and then, and Freddie feels like in an old movie. Maybe they can have a Victorian theme for their next tour. That or pirates. 

 

“It’s so tiny,” Brian says, turning to look where they came from. 

 

“It still goes on there,” Freddie says and points ahead, where the street is crossed by a few others. 

 

“Yeah, but still. Can you imagine playing in a tiny town like this?” 

 

“Heh,” Freddie says and tries to envision them doing their glam thing in front of fifty villagers. He laughs and Brian grins at him, reaching out to wrap his arm around his waist shortly before letting go again. 

 

“I know, right?” He ducks his head and Freddie swallows, feeling his throat tighten. 

 

They reach the crossroads and stop; there aren’t many cars, so there’s no indication as to where the busy part of town lies. 

 

“Left,” Freddie says on a whim, and Brian raises a brow at him, but follows anyway. It’s still depressingly hot, and Freddie groans. Brian gives him a worried look, rubs his back and then ‘oooh’s at something ahead of them. 

 

“Your instincts are clearly awesome,” he says. 

 

It’s a mini market, with ten or fifteen stalls, all fruits and vegetables and stuff. Freddie frowns. Brian is already digging through his pockets for money, and Freddie follows a little reluctantly. He hasn’t heard anything good about those open markets and god knows where this stuff comes from.

 

“Cherries!” Brian exclaims and drags Freddie to a stall to their left. “Hello,” he says to the lady before Freddie can protest, and now that they’ve stopped it’d be very rude to ask Brian to not buy anything. Freddie frowns, crosses his arms and watches Brian make small talk while the salesperson shovels cherries into a small basket. Brian hands her a fiver, takes the basket and Freddie follows him grouchily down the street. 

 

“She said there’s a very nice place to sit if we—“ he stops as they round the corner; on the left side of the street is a small park, a level lower than the rest of the town, a few benches and some of the biggest trees Freddie has ever seen. Brian’s camera clicks, once, twice, and then he’s pulling Freddie down the steps toward a green spot at the far end, shielded by bushes and low hanging branches of a willow tree. 

 

“May I invite you in?” Brian says, grinning and lifting the branches up over their heads and stepping aside. 

 

“You’re silly today, darling,” Freddie answers, but smiles secretly and feels his face flush a little as he sits down in the grass, pleasantly surprised that it’s much cooler down here. Brian joins him a moment later, placing the little basket of cherries between them and taking off his sunglasses. He picks a cherry from a stalk and Freddie eyes him warily as he pops it into his mouth. 

 

“I’m sure they have worms,” he says after a moment and Brian shrugs and spits the pit into the grass. 

 

“Additional proteins,” Brian says and takes another one. He breaks it open in the middle and holds it out for Freddie to see. “Besides, there are none. See?”

 

Freddie purses his lips and takes the pitless half from Brian’s fingers to pop it into his mouth. It’s kind of sweet and a bit sour, and Freddie licks his lips and picks one from the basket. 

 

“Good?” Brian grins at him, putting another in his mouth, and Freddie glares at him, laying a tissue out to put the pits in. They eat in silence for a while, Freddie still a bit cautious of potential wormholes, until Brian pokes Freddie in the side. Freddie pokes him back with foot and continues to lick his fingers clean, before he realizes what he’s doing and that Brian is kind of staring. 

 

“Uhm,” he says around the awkward silence. “You were lucky, with the cherries.” 

 

Brian laughs and rolls his shoulders. “You just can’t admit defeat, Fred.” His smile is genuine, though, and contagious so Freddie has to smile as well. He lies back in the grass, stretches out and reaches for another cherry before putting the basket aside. He closes his eyes and feels Brian settle down next to him a moment later, their shoulders, hands, barely touching. 

 

The silence between is not uncomfortable now, and Freddie exhales, inhales, feeling as if a weight he didn’t know was there is sliding off his shoulders. He feels his breathing even out, and then maybe he nods off a bit, not quite asleep but not really awake either. The heat is hazy, but not bothersome around him, and Brian’s presence is reassuring. After some time, a small noise calls him back and he shifts to his side. When he opens his eyes, he’s staring straight into Brian’s. 

 

“Hey,” Freddie says stupidly, throat dry, and blinks the sleep from his eyes. 

 

“Hey,” Brian answers. “I was just,” he stops again, bites his lip, eyes flicking down to Freddie’s mouth and Freddie can feel it as if Brian just touched his lips. “Your freckles are multiplying.”

 

Freddie blushes a little and reaches up and rubs his nose. “Yeah, I know, sun.” 

 

Brian laughs. “They look cute. I like them.” 

 

Freddie doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just moves a little closer until their noses are bumping. “Hey, uhm,” he starts, feeling Brian’s breath against his lips, and oh fuck they’re going to kiss. He hopes so or he’s going to explode into a million tiny Freddie Mercury pieces. 

 

“You,” Brian starts and then Freddie leans in a little, their lips nearly touching for a moment, before Brian pulls back again, looking a bit breathless. Freddie sighs, blood rushing loudly in his ears. Brian rubs his nose against Freddie’s, grins. 

 

“I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue,” he says, and Freddie has to laugh because god, they’re twelve, really. 

 

“Yeah? Show me,” he replies, and Brian is already reaching for a cherry. Freddie purses his lips and watches his mouth closely; Brian looks as if he’s chewing on an insect, lips moving carefully, concentration in his eyes, and a moment later he triumphantly holds up a tied stem. 

 

“I don’t know whether to find this disgusting or awesome, Brian May,” Freddie says, a little giggly. 

 

“Hmph,” Brian says and throws the stem into the grass behind them, then settles his hand carefully, but firmly on Freddie’s waist. “You should appreciate this wonderful talent, really.” 

 

“Yeah?” Freddie replies lazily and feels his eyes close again. Brian strokes his waist, fingers grazing now and then over the small slice of naked skin left exposed by Freddie’s T-shirt. Brian pulls him a bit closer, fingers curling over the small of Freddie’s back, tugging until they’re molded into one another. 

 

Freddie opens his eyes again and starts, “We’re—“ 

 

Brian nods. “Is that okay?” 

 

Freddie doesn’t reply immediately, but reaches up to put his hand on Brian’s shoulder before working up his courage and saying, “Could you kiss me now?” It maybe comes out a little impatient.

 

And Brian snorts a little but gently rubs his nose against Freddie’s again before closing the short distance between them. Brian’s lips are sweet and soft and Freddie opens up a little, tilts his head, and thinks he’s going to die from how their kiss sends shivers down his spine. For a second he forgets the heat and everything else and then he hears a voice in the distance bellowing their names. 

 

“Crap,” he says and pulls back, sits up. “Roger.” 

 

Brian chuckles and sits up, looking a bit ruffled and oh god, Freddie can’t stop grinning at him even when he picks up. 

 

They walk back to the bus in silence, shoulders bumping, catching each other’s smiles. Brian’s not taking pictures, the basket with cherries dangling easily from his fingers, and Freddie steals one to suck on the way. When they get back, the motors are already running, and the tour ushers them inside, looking a little stern. Freddie sighs happily at the conditioned air and wanders into the lounge, Brian following.

 

“We brought you cherries,” Brian announces and puts the basket on the table in the lounge. Roger and Deaky are playing cards and Roger seems to be totally kicking John’s ass. Brian flops down next to Roger, and Freddie falls down tiredly on the couch next to Brian. 

 

Brian casually slips an arm around Freddie’s shoulder, and Freddie plants his head on Brian’s shoulder, watches Roger and Deaky reshuffle the cards.

 

“What were you doing?” Roger asks, putting down his hand; John is scowling, disappointed by his new cards already. 

 

Brian opens his mouth to answer, but Freddie’s quicker, saying, “We made out. It was perfect, darlings.” 

 

Roger laughs, and Deaky snorts a little, and Brian gives Freddie a look. “We wandered around, bought cherries, nature stuff. It was nice.” 

 

Brian’s hold around his shoulder tightens a little, and Freddie suppresses the urge to lean in closer.

 

“Who’s up for some scrabble?” he asks instead, winding out from under Brian’s arm to grab the bag of tiles. They play, and of course Freddie loses, but he does enjoy their fury at all his one letter plays. Afterwards they curl up together to watch telly, and Freddie feels his eyes fall shut after barely ten minutes. 

 

“Tired?” Brian asks softly against his ear and Freddie nods. He wishes they’d watch something when it’s bright outside for once, then he wouldn’t always fall asleep. 

 

“I’m going to go to bed,” he mumbles and stumbles up, tearing at his clothing in the hallway. His bunk welcomes him not as softly as a bed, but still wonderful. He snuggles into his pillow and then suddenly another body joins him in the bunk. He’s not as surprised as he probably should be, but makes room for Brian to press against him. 

 

“Watch those boney elbows, dear,” he mumbles but before he can continue, Brian is kissing him softly, thumbing his chin until Freddie opens up a bit. Their hands roam awkwardly for a second, before Brian’s settle on Freddie’s waist, and Freddie curls his fingers around Brian’s neck. They kiss lazily, slowly, learning each other’s nuances, the optimal way to tilt their heads until Freddie sighs into Brian’s mouth and breaks the kiss. Brian plants a small kiss on the corner of his mouth, and moves to nuzzle his neck tentatively. 

 

Freddie sighs again, inhales Brian’s scent deeply and curls up against him. They shift a bit, pushing, pulling until Brian is pressed against his back, his arms around his waist, the tiny space of the bunk ideally used. 

 

Brian presses a kiss to the small of Freddie’s neck, and Freddie says, eyes already closed, drifting off, “Tomorrow, tomorrow,” because they have time. 

 

“Yeah,” Brian whispers against his skin, the affection in his voice warm and obvious, "tomorrow." Freddie falls asleep with Brian still tracing soft shapes on his belly. 


End file.
